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The third time was a charm. Tonight, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched its first commercial payload, after having its launch postponed twice in the past week due to some issues with its liquid oxygen systems that required a thorough cleaning.

SpaceX Falcon 9 ready for launch.

The Falcon 9 was carrying the SES-8 communications satellite for satellite provider SES. The SES-8 was built by Orbital Sciences and will allow SES to service its customers in the South Asia and Asia Pacific regions. The SES-8 satellite was successfully deployed in geosynchronous orbit approximately 33 minutes after launch.

SpaceX has garnered a lot of attention for the cargo trips that its Dragon spacecraft has made to the International Space Station, but it has also been aggressively pursuing commercial space contracts. The company has launched a commercial payload before, with its Falcon 1 rocket, but the SES-8 was its first commercial payload for the Falcon 9, which has now flown seven successful missions. SpaceX currently has over 20 commercial launches on its manifest between now and 2017.

UPDATE: 5:56pm ET - Here's what the full flight looks like: at 3 minutes, the first stage engine will shut down, the first and second stages of the rocket will separate, then the second stage will fire. At 4 minutes, the fairing (which protects the payload in the atmosphere) will separate from the rocket. At 8 minutes, the second stage engine will shut off and the rocket will keep moving thanks to Newton's first law. At 27 minutes, the second stage engine will fire for one minute to maneuver the payload into the right place. At 33 minutes, the SES-8 satellite will be deployed.

UPDATE: 5:41pm ET - LAUNCH! All systems go and the Falcon 9 is in the air, heading towards orbit.

UPDATE: 5:43pm ET - First stage separation has completed with no issues. Second stage engine is firing.